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The Queen
- Aretha Franklin
- Narrated by: Adenrele Ojo
- Length: 3 hrs and 48 mins
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Publisher's summary
You know her voice. Now hear her story.
Audible has teamed up with Rolling Stone to produce an uncompromisingly honest Audible Original that honors the life and legacy of the incomparable Aretha Franklin. Aretha’s universal appeal was evident from the release of her first album at age 14 through her nearly 50 Top 40 hits. Yet this intimate biography reminds us that Aretha knew pain as much as she knew glory. It was the blues, residing deep within her soul, that gave way to a voice able to lift millions with a profound sense of freedom, self-worth, and undeniable talent to rise above sorrow.
Aretha’s unshakeable foundation of faith - fueled by a childhood spent singing in church alongside her famous father, minister C.L. Franklin - allowed her to blend heartbreak with spirituality in soul-stirring song. By diving into the true story of Aretha - from the years following her mother’s passing to the moment she decided to become a singer - the listener can’t help but glimpse the roots of the sorrow behind her famous eyes.
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Our favorite moments from The Queen
About the Author
Mikal Gilmore is a writer and music journalist who has been contributing to Rolling Stone for over four decades. He has published multiple books on music and culture, including Night Beat: A History of Rock and Roll and Stories Done: Writings on the 1960s and Its Discontents. Over the course of his career, Gilmore has profiled a wide range of musicians across genres, including Tupac Shakur, Frank Sinatra, David Bowie, and Chuck Berry. He has also turned the lens of his candid work towards his most intimate family memories. His brother, Gary Gilmore, demanded and, in 1977, received the death penalty for two murders he committed in Utah, becoming the first person in the US to be executed in nearly a decade. Mikal's 1994 memoir Shot in the Heart explored his relationship with his brother, and the aftermath of the execution. It won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award, and was adapted into a 2001 HBO film. Gilmore’s forthcoming book, Stay with Me, co-written with his wife, Elaine Schock, about their shared experience during and after their difficult experience with his Stage IV cancer in 2015 and 2016, will be published in early 2019.
About the Performer
Adenrele Ojo is an award-winning actress, voice-over artist, writer, producer, and photographer. She began recording audiobooks in 2007, quickly garnering AudioFile Earphones Awards for her narration on Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, The Mothers, and Heart of Iron, as well as a 2018 Audie Award for her co-narration of Loving vs. Virginia. Born into a theatrical family, she is the daughter of John E. Allen, Jr., the late founder of the New Freedom Theatre in Philadelphia. She holds a BA in Theater from Hunter College in New York and has studied the Meisner technique at the William Esper Studio under Maggie Flanigan. Ojo’s illustrious stage credits include the 2006 production of Joe Turner’s Come and Gone by August Wilson, earning her a nomination for an Ovation Award, and The Ballad of Emmett Till by Ifa Bayeza, winner of a 2010 Ovation Award and a Los Angeles Drama Critics Award.
Featured Article: From the Queen of Soul to the Purple One, Hear the Stories of Black Musicians and Artists Who Broke Boundaries
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Just before the small-time bootlegger Max Gerlach died, he tried to reveal his secret: he was the inspiration for the mysterious Jay Gatsby. It’s a nice story, but was he telling the truth? Veteran reporter Joe Nocera and producer Poppy Damon investigate this century-old literary mystery and uncover untold secrets about the Great American Novel.
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Jay Gatsby was not black
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Going Infinite
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- By: Michael Lewis
- Narrated by: Michael Lewis
- Length: 8 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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When Michael Lewis first met him, Sam Bankman-Fried was the world’s youngest billionaire and crypto’s Gatsby. CEOs, celebrities, and leaders of small countries all vied for his time and cash after he catapulted, practically overnight, onto the Forbes billionaire list. Who was this rumpled guy in cargo shorts and limp white socks, whose eyes twitched across Zoom meetings as he played video games on the side? In Going Infinite Lewis sets out to answer this question, taking listeners into the mind of Bankman-Fried.
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really expected more rigor from Michael Lewis
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By: Michael Lewis
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Hold Fast
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Hold Fast is the uncompromising story of Backpage.com, the world’s most scandalous website, and the rise and fall of alternative weekly newspapers nationwide.
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An amazing, crazy ride. Highly recommend.
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Trace of Doubt
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In the summer of 1985, a brilliant young British DNA scientist Helena Greenwood is found murdered in her front garden in a quiet suburb in California. The police believe they know the killer’s identity but there’s no evidence against him, and the only thing linking him to the crime is the fact he’d been charged with sexually assaulting Helena just a few months previously.
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Frustrating
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Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World
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The Mongol army led by Genghis Khan subjugated more lands and people in 25 years than the Romans did in 400. In nearly every country the Mongols conquered, they brought an unprecedented rise in cultural communication, expanded trade, and a blossoming of civilization.
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Golden Horde/Platinum Listen
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Sorry for Your Loss
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- Original Recording
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A sidesplitting, heartrending look at life—and death. This powerfully personal production, recorded live from the Minetta Lane Theatre, cuts through the platitudes, directly reaching out to anyone who has ever experienced loss—or will. So...everyone.
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A Must Listen for the Grieving
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Evil Has a Name
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- Narrated by: Paul Holes, Jim Clemente
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- Original Recording
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For his victims, for their families and for the investigators tasked with finding him, the senselessness and brutality of the Golden State Killer's acts were matched only by the powerlessness they felt at failing to uncover his identity. Then, on April 24, 2018, authorities arrested 72-year-old Joseph James DeAngelo at his home in Citrus Heights, Calif., based on DNA evidence linked to the crimes. Amazingly, it seemed, evil finally had a name. Please note: This work contains descriptions of violent crime and sexual assault and may not be suitable for all listeners.
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Audible Raises The Bar On True Crime Genre
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The Demon Next Door
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Best-selling author Bryan Burrough recently made a shocking discovery: The small town of Temple, Texas, where he had grown up, had harbored a dark secret. One of his high school classmates, Danny Corwin, was a vicious serial killer. In this chilling tale, Burrough raises important questions of whether serial killers can be recognized before they kill or rehabilitated after they do. It is also a story of Texas politics and power that led the good citizens of the town of Temple to enable a demon who was their worst nightmare.
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Odd narration choice
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The Autobiography of Malcolm X
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Experience a bold take on this classic autobiography as it’s performed by Oscar-nominated Laurence Fishburne. In this searing classic autobiography, originally published in 1965, Malcolm X, the Muslim leader, firebrand, and Black empowerment activist, tells the extraordinary story of his life and the growth of the Human Rights movement. His fascinating perspective on the lies and limitations of the American dream and the inherent racism in a society that denies its non-White citizens the opportunity to dream, gives extraordinary insight into the most urgent issues of our own time.
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Audible Masterpiece
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They were the DeMeo gang - the most deadly hit men in organized crime. Their Mafia higher-ups came to know, use, and ultimately fear them as the Murder Machine. They killed for profit and for pleasure, following cold-blooded plans and wild whims, from the mean streets of New York to the Florida Gold Coast, and from coast to coast. Now complete with personal revelations of one of the key players, this is the savage story that leaves no corpse unturned in its terrifying telling.
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stop browsing and just get it.
- By Patrick on 04-20-21
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The Debutante
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Thirty years ago, award-winning journalist Jon Ronson stumbled on the mystery of Carol Howe—a charismatic, wealthy former debutante turned white supremacist spokeswoman turned undercover informant. In 1995, Carol was spying on Oklahoma’s neo-Nazis for the government just when Timothy McVeigh blew up a federal building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 people.
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Interesting but not compelling
- By Gail Jester on 04-15-23
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Elvis and Me
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The inspiration for the major motion picture Priscilla directed by Sofia Coppola, this New York Times best seller reveals the intimate story of Elvis Presley and Priscilla Presley, told by the woman who lived it.
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What a story!
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Two Women Walk into a Bar
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Twenty-one years after Cheryl Strayed set off on the Pacific Crest Trail to heal from the death of her beloved mother, Cheryl’s mother-in-law, Joan, is given weeks to live. As she and her husband help see Joan through her final days, Cheryl reckons with their complicated relationship, determined to connect with a woman who both showed her love and (sometimes hilariously) held her at a distance. Cheryl reflects on their two decades together as she comes to a deeper understanding of the secrets and sorrows in Joan’s complicated past.
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Cheryl tells a great story!
- By Amazon Customer on 01-01-24
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Letters from Guantánamo
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In weeks after the September 11 attacks, 18-year-old Mansoor Adayfi was kidnapped by Afghan militia and sold to US forces for bounty money. After months of interrogations, he was sent to the US military prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, as one of its first prisoners. Like the nearly 800 other men imprisoned at Guantanamo, Adayfi didn’t know why he was imprisoned or for how long. He had never seen a skyscraper and couldn’t imagine what the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center looked like, much less how they were destroyed.
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Great method of storytelling
- By Stacy Dube on 05-13-24
By: Mansoor Adayfi, and others
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What listeners say about The Queen
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- serine
- 11-15-18
Interesting life
Review This was a free Audible Original. Ended up learning about Aretha's incredibly interesting life. Definitely worth readying.
#tagsgiving sweepstakes
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2 people found this helpful
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- John
- 05-16-21
Preachy
The performer slowly enunciated each word as if lecturing to the uninitiated or to a high schooler. In a tone that says “hear me and do as I say.”
The history of Aretha took about 1 hour of this 3+ hour book. That would have been fine.
However hearing the book reminded me to purchase her first gospel CD.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Elizabeth Lauren
- 10-24-18
Insightful
Thank you for staring this Great Lady's story. Her songs are the soundtrack of my life
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- Dylan A.
- 02-15-19
Too Opinionated
The reader was amazing and made the over all experience a good one.
However, the book itself was too opinionated. It felt more like something from a variety magazine and a biography.
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- Anonymous User
- 11-21-18
i didnt know
lots of info here. so much i didnt know and i consider my self a fan. R.I.P. Rea and Sam Cook too...
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- Rocky Sunico
- 07-10-19
Solid Experience
Picked this up as a free Audible Original and wasn't expecting too much as it's a little outside my comfort zone. But it turned out to be a rather thoughtful effort to cover the highlights of Aretha Franklin's life and map the course of her career over the years. Good narration and good content. Solid experience.
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- Lynn A. D.
- 01-15-19
An honest story
This is an honest story about Aretha Franklin, hers ups and downs, her triumphs and losses.
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- Herb Duberry
- 12-30-18
AWESOME
This book is a life changer. It takes you into Aretha complex world with great simplicity.
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- ShirleyC
- 02-24-19
BEAUTIFUL, Just beautiful,
What a fitting (and explanatory) tribute to a woman who truly changed the world. Amen.
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- Caryn Sapeli
- 11-13-18
Good overview of the Life of a Legend
This book spans Aretha's lifetime. Her innate gifts, and self taught musical abilities coupled with her strong spirit are inspiring. The backstory of her rather tumultuous childhood, with some tough emotional blows, and the way she pressed on to an incredible career make an engaging story. Lots of history of soul and the music industry is informative and entertaining.
#Inspiring #celebrity #amazingtalent #selftaught
#tagsgiving and #sweepstakes
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